Spring-seated butt-cap for guns



l 2 sheetssheet 1. H. E. FINNEY. 4SPRING SBATED BU N0.; 328,930.

Patented Oct. 27, 1885.

TT GAP FOR GUNS.

(No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

H.` B. FINNBY. 'SPRING SEATED BUTT CAP FOR GUNS. No. 328,930.

(No Model.)

Patented Oct.` 27, 1885.

" *Narren Srares Ayant* trice.

SPFill\lG-SEi'-\TED BUTT-CAP FOR GUNS.

SPECIFICATION forming part orf Letters Patent No. 323,930, dated October27,1885.

Application filed August 8, 1884. Serial No. 139,986. (No model.) Y

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY E. FINNEY, a citizen of the United States,residing in Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Spring-Seated Butt-Capsfor Gun- Stocks, of which the following is a specifica tion.

This invention relates to improvements in spring-seated butt-caps forgun-stocks of that class in which the butt-cap is fitted to slide on thestock, and ,one or more springs coniined between the butt-cap and thebutt-end of the stock, so that when the butt-cap is held against thebody of the person of the recoil wilL, cause a compression of thesprings between the butt-cap and the butt of the stock as thelatterisdriven back in the buttcap, whereby the spring` resistance opposed tothe recoil will take up the shock, and thereby relieve the person ringthe gun.

rIhe obj ects of my invention are to provide, in connection with thebutt cap and the springs which are connected to and confined within thelatter, a base support for the springs adapted to be detachably securedto the huttend of an ordinary gun-stock without altering theconstruction of the stock otherwise than 'to remove therefrom the usualbutt plate, in which event the screws einv ployed for securing thebutt-plate can be utilized for securing the base attachment for thesprings to the stock; also, to provide for a gunstock a spring-buttattachment in which the springs confined within a butt-cap tted toslide` on the stock are connected with the buttcap and with a base-platesecured on the buttend of the stock, whereby the springs locatedexternally to the stock shall serve as means for maintaining thebutt-capon the stock as long as the base-plate for the springs is secured uponthe latter; also, to provide a strong and efficient construction andarrangement of springs which during the recoil shall prevent the buttcapfrom rocking independently of the stock, and also maintain the sides ofthe cap `which fit in the stock parallel with the line of recoil, sothat the pressure against the springs shall be perpendicular to thesprings, the butt-end of the stock permitted to slide accurately in andout from the butt-cap, and any binding ring the gun the force i actionbetween the stock and the side of the cap at any one point entirelyavoided; also, to provide a laterally-extensible butt cap susceptible ofbeing widened or shortened to fit various sizes of stocks; also, toprovide a two-part base-support for the springs, one of said parts beingdirectly connected with the spring or springs and the other beingadapted to be secured to the butt of the stock in place of the ordinarybutt-plate, and said two parts being adapted to be fitted and lockedtogether, whereby after one part has been secured to the stock theremaining part, carrying the springs, can be attached to the same, so asto provide at the butt-end of the stock a basesupport connected with thelatter and with the springs, which are in turn connected with thebutt-cap; also,to provide certain improved details of construction,ashereinafter described and claimed, and illustrated in the annexeddrawings, in which- Figurel represents acentral section through aspring-butt attachment constructed in accordance with my invention andapplied to a gun-stock. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of thebase-plates, which is adapted to be secured directly to the butt-end ofthe stock. Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on line y y, Fig. 2.Fig. 4 is a perspective view ofthe attachment without the butt-cap. planview of one of the base-plates designed to be locked on the plate shownin Fig. 2 after the latter plate has been secured to the stock. Fig. 6is a transverse section on line x x, Fig. 5. Fig. 7 represents a set ofauxiliary springs. Fig. 8 shows a spring-cushion designed to be iittedagainst the inner side of the butt-cap. Fig. 9 is a perspective of oneportion of the butt-cap, and Fig. 10 is a like view of the remainingportion thereof. Fig. 1l is a perspective view of the completeattachment, showing the manner in which the plate C is locked on theplate B. Fig. l2 represents one of the four springs. Fig. 13 is atransverse section on line z z, Fig. 4, with the plates B and Cseparated. Fig. 14 is a like section on line e e', Fig. 4.

Referring by letter to the several figures of the drawings, in whichlike letters denote like parts, A indicates an ordinary gnnstock, whichprior to the application of my springing. 5 is a seated butt-cap theretocan be provided with the ordinary butt-plate secured to the end of thestock-butt by means of screws, in the usual' Illy improved springattachment for the butt-end of a gun-stock comprises three mainelementsto wit, a .butt-cap adapted to in-v close the butt-end of thestock and to slide on the latter, a spring-seat for the butt-cap, and abase-support for the spring-seat, connected with the latter and adaptedto be secured upon the butt-end of the stock. The butt-cap is made intwo parts, so as to be susceptible of being enlarged or diminished inarea in order to iit various sizes of gun-stocks, and the spring-seat orcushion is composed of springs constructed as hereinafter described. Thebase-support for the spring-seat is composed of a pair of plates, one ofwhich is adapted to be secured directly to thev stock in place of theusual butt-plates, while the other plate, C, of my base-support for thesprings, constituting the spring-seat or cushion, forms a seat to whichthe main spring of said spring-seat or cushion is secured, said twoplates being adapted to be detachably secured together,whereby in orderto apply my springseated butt-cap the usual butt-plate can be detached.and in place thereoi the oblong slotted plate B, constituting one of themembers of my twopart base-support,iitted against the butt-end of thestock and secured thereon by means of the screws A', previously employedfor securing the ordinary butt-plate to the stocl ,which said screws canbe inserted through the slots or openings B in the plate B and screwedin the holes in the stock which were provided for the' screws in theiirst instance. This plate B serves as a means for connecting with thestock a plate, C, which latter constitutes a direct seat for the springsand forms the other member of the two-part base-support. The plate C isadapted to be detachably connected with the plate B after the latter hasbeen secured to the stock, for which purpose I provide a slidingdovetail joint or connection between the two plates, which admits oftheir being readily connected with or disconnected from each other, andI further provide a latch for immovably locking one plate in position onthe other after they have been connected together by means of thedovetail connection. As a simple and convenient means for forming thisdovetail joint between the two plates, the plate B is provided upon itsouter face with a pair of bosses formed around the slots in plate B, orwith a pair of slotted plates, B2, formed with or secured to plate B,and having this opening coinciding with the slots in the main plate, asin Figs. 2 and 3. These bosses or raised locking portions of plate B arereceived in a longitudinal slot in the plate C when the latter is fittedagainst the plate B, and practically constitute dovetail ribs ferlocking one plate with the other, for which purpose each boss, plate, orrib B2 is made of a rectangular v portions of the ribs B2,

shape and contracted in width at one end, and provided with shortbeveled edge portions B3, which commence at the points of juncturebetween its narrow and its wide portions and run back a short distancealong the latter. The slot which is formed longitudinally through theplate C is formed, as shown in Fig. 5, with the wide portions C andnarrow portions G2, respectively, corresponding to the wide and narrowportions of the ribs B2, so that the ribs on the plate B can fit in theslot in the other plate, C, when the latter is fitted on the bed-plateB; The'side edges of each narrow portion of the slot in the plate C areeach beveled for a short distance, commencing at the points ofjuncturebetween the wide portions and one end of each contracted portion of theslot, these beveled edge portions O3 of the slot being made incorrespondence with the beveled edge portions of the ribs B, asindicated in dotted lines, Fig. 5, and full lines, Fig. 6. By suchconstruction, when the plate C is fitted against the plate B, with theribs of the latter received in the slot C 2, the plate C can be slidalong on the plate B, so as to bring the beveled edge portions ofthesides of its slot under and against the beveled edge and thereby lockthe two plates together. This dovetail joint or connection between thetwo members of the basesupport serves to hold the said two members orplates together; but in order to prevent any slipping on the part ofeither plate, the plate C is provided with a latch, D, Figs. 5 and l1,pivoted near one of its ends, and arranged to be swung around againstthe end of the bedrplate B after the two plates have been interlocked.

In Fig. theplateBis shown in dotted lines with the latch in positionvagainst an end thereof, while in Fig. ll the two plates and the latchare illustrated in full lines. Upon one side of the plate Gis arranged ahalfelliptic or bow-shaped spring, E, which is riveted at its middleportion to the base-plate, and between this bow-spring and the plate Iprefer to arrange a short auxiliary bow-spring, F, which constitutes aleaf for increasing the strength of the mainspring. The long mainbow-spring E, which is shown detached in Fig. l2, is provided near eachend with a short slot, E', through each of which passes one of a set ofscrews or pins, G, which serve to connect the bow-spring with aspringback plate, H, to which latter the butt-cap I is rigidly secured. Thisconnection between the ends of the bow-spring and the back ter, as juststated, is rigid with the butt-cap, and is therefore for some purposes apart of the same) allows a suitable extent of play on the part of thebow-spring at its ends while the said spring is being eitherstraightened out under a recoil of the gun or while the spring isresuming its normal bent condition, and mainly serves to prevent thebuttlcap from being thrown out too far from the stock. At

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the saine time, however, this yielding connecsomewhat shorter than the`bow-spring E,

and supplemented by a short spring-leaf, L. The spring K and itssupplemental spring or spring-leaf L are fitted together and riveted atthe'niiddle yto the inner side of the back plate, and are arranged withtheir curve reversely to the curvature of the spring E, so that the endsof the shorter bow-spring,L,shall rest against the concave side vof thelonger bow spring,E,at points back of the ends ofthe latter. rIhe longerbow-spring,E,is provided on its concave side with `studs M, which arearranged to constitute stops orabutments for the ends of the shortbowspring K. It will be seen that as the shorter bow-spring is connectedwith the butt-cap through the medium ofthe back plate, H, its endsbearing against stops on the longer bow-spring,which is connected with abasesupport secured on the stock, Awill assist in establishingaspring-connectio'n between the stock and the butt-cap, which, underarecoil of the gun, will insure a compression of the springsin thedirect line of the recoil, and afford between the stock and the butt-capa yielding connection, which shall yield directly in line with thedirection ofthe recoil, and hence prevent any rocking or side i movementofthe butt-cap independently ofthe stock when the latter recoils. Theconnection between the longer bow-spring and the back plate, H, alsosubserves the same purpose, it

Vbeing understood that in its normal condition the said spring will bedrawn against the stud or pins G at the ends of its slots which varenearest the endsof the spring, so that upon any subsequent compressionof the spring its ends resting on the inner side of the backplate,H,shall be free to ride outwardly or toward the ends of the latterto a limited extent.

The butt-cap Iis composed of two sectionsthe one,l, constituting themain body portion and the other, I2, an end portion of the cap. Thepart, I, constituting the main portion of the cap is in `the nature ofan oblong cup cut away at one side. The sides of this part of the capare separated from the back thereof for a short distance from theirends, so as to form a pair of spring-wings or side portions, Rand thesespring ends of thesides are made to converge toward each other and tonormally stand over the inner side of the back of the cap, as in Fig. 8.The other and smaller portion,12,of the cap has the ends l4 of its sidessimilarly separated from the back portion of this part of the cap; butin place of converging toward each other they are arranged to diverge,so

as to normally stand out or away from theV side edge of the backportion, as in Fig. 10. This part I2 of 'the cap is also provided with aslot or notch, l5, for a fastening -screw, N, Fig. l. The part Il of thecap is adapted to fit inthe part I, and by drawing it out the cap can beadjusted to the size of stock. The part I is secured by al screw, N, tothe back plate, said cap having a bearing, P, and the back plate beingprovided with a suitable bearing, H', for the screws. The part I2issecured to the back plate by screw N passing through the slot I inthis part of the cap, and

also fitted in a bearing with which the back plate is provided. Thespring sides serve as auxiliaries to the screw in holding thev two partsof the cap together, since, when the part l2 is fitted in the part I',the action of these spring 4sides against one another will bring theminto position so as to properly shape the cap. To resist heavy recoils,I provide an auxiliary elastic cushion, R, Figs. 1 and 7, composed of aset of solid conical rubber springs, R', rising from a common base orbed plate, preferably formed with and of the same` material as thecone-springs.l This cushion is arranged between the bow-springs E and K,whereby said coneesprings will be compressed when the springs ai'e beingstraightened and will oppose to the recoil a springresistance rapidlyincreasing in proportion to the extent to which they are compressed. Inthe space occurring between the back of the butt-cap and the back platel arrange an elastic cushion, R2, Figs. l and 8, consisting of a stripof rubber made triangular or of other preferred form in cross-section.

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From the foregoing it will be seen that when u myattachment is appliedto the buttend of a gun-stock the butt-cap is practically connected witha spring-seat composed of bow-springs, and the said seat is in turnconnected witha fiat base support or bed,which is detachably fittedagainst the butt-end of the stock in place of vthe usual butt-plate,which, as hereinbefore observed, will be removed prior to applyingmyattachmena in which way it will be with- IIO in the province of anyone to apply my atV u tachment, and hence the time and cost of procuringskilled labor avoided. It may also be observed that by means of a pairof v bowsprings arranged Las shown an elliptic spring is providedbetween the stock and the buttcap, which spring is at one side connectedwith the stock through the medium of a back plate, which in effect formsa part of the cap.

By forming, however, one-half of this elliptic the two members of thetwo-part base-support. This part of the spring therefore affords aconnection between the cap and the stock, While the shorter half of theelliptic spring, in addition to its use as a part of the springresistance opposed to the recoil, practically serves as a guide for thecap and pre# vents the latter from rocking independently of the stock. v

Having described my invention, What I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is-

1. A spring attachment for the butt-end of a gun-stock, consisting of abutt-cap with an elliptic spring in aplane parallel with the butt andconstituting a springseat therefor, and a base-support for said springdetach'ably secured to the butt end of a gun stock, substantially asdescribed.

2. Thebutt-cap,incombinationWithaspringseat therefor and a two-partbase-support for the spring-seat, one part of said base-supportdetachably secured to the butt-end of a gunstock, and both parts of thesame detachably secured together, substantially as described.

3.V The buttcap and a spring-seat therefor, in combination with thetwo-part support, composed of a pair of interlocking plates, one ofwhich is detachably secured to the buttend of a gunstock in place of theusual buttplate, substantially as described. Y

4. The butt-cap and a spring-seat therefor, in combination with abase-support composed of a pair of plates detachably secured together bya dovetail joint, substantially as described. l

5. The butt-cap and a spring-seat therefor, in combination with abase-support composed of a pair of vplates detachably secured togetherby a dovetail joint, one of said plates being provided with a latch forlocking the plates after they have beenconnected together by theirdovetail connection, substantially as described. y

6. The butt-cap, in combination with the elliptic spring having asliding connection at one end with the butt-cap, substantially asdescribed.

7. The butt-cap and a base-support for its spring-seat, in combinationwith an elliptic spring secured at its sides to the cap and base, and atits ends having a sliding connection with the cap, substantially asdescribed.

8*. Thebutt-cap,incombinationwithaspringseat composed of a bow-springhaving at its ends a sliding connect-ion with the cap, and a shorterbow-spring arranged to form, in conjunction with the longer bow-spring,an elliptic spring, andhaving its ends resting against t-he longerspring, and bearing against abutments formed on the concave side of thelatter, substantially as described.

9. The spring E, secured at its middle to a base-support, and at itsends having a sliding connection With the butt-cap, in combination withthe spring L, connected at its middle with the butt-cap and having itsends resting on the spring E, which latter is provided with stops orabutments for the ends of the spring L, substantially as described.

Y 10. The butt cap and elliptic spring, in combination with an elasticcushion situated Withinthe elliptic spring, substantially as described.

ll. The buttcap and elliptic spring, in combination with the elasticcushion situated within the ellipticl spring, and composed of a seriesof conical rubber springs, substantially as described.

12. The combination, yWith a springseat, of a tWo-partextensiblebutt-cap inclosing the same, whereby the butt-cap can be adapted tovarious sizes of gun stocks, substantially as described.

l13. The eXtensible butt-cap, composed of two parts having spring sidesor iianges embracing each other, substantially as described.

14. The extensible butt-cap, composed of two parts, I and I,respectively provided With spring sides I3 and l, said parts beingiitted together and secured to a back plate, substantially as described.

l5. The buttcap, in combination with the bow-spring E, secured at itsmiddle to a basesupport, and at its ends connected with the butt-cap bya sliding connection, substantially as described.

16. The butt-cap and its spring-seat, in combination With the two-partbase-support, composed of plates B and G, one being provided withopenings for fastening-screws and with one or more ribs having dovetailedgeportions, and the other being provided with a slot, C', havingdovetail edge portions, substantially as described.

HENRY E. FINNEY.

Witnesses:

W. W. ELLIOTT, CHAs. G. PAGE.

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